1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for manufacturing vehicle seat component provided with a blower.
2. Description of Related Art
As this type of vehicle seat, there is a vehicle seat that includes a seat cushion, a seatback, and a blower (see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-8334 (JP 2004-8334 A)). The blower includes a centrifugal blower mechanism (mechanism that blows air in the centrifugal direction while sucking in external air from the axial direction of the blower). The seat cushion and the seatback each have a cushion member and an upholstery member. Each upholstery member is a saclike member that covers the cushion member, and is made of air-permeable fabric.
The cushion member is an elastic member, and has flow passages (vent grooves and outlet holes). The vent grooves are (linear) recesses formed in the back surface of the cushion member. The outlet holes open, at one end side, on the seating side (upholstery member side) of the cushion member, and communicate, at the other end side, with the vent grooves. The cushion member described above is generally formed by injecting a molding material (molten resin) into a molding die. By forming projections (portions that correspond to the outer shapes of, for example, the outlet holes) inside the molding die, the flow passages are formed simultaneously with the formation of the cushion member.
In the related art, after the flow passages are formed in advance in the cushion member, the surface of the cushion member is covered with the upholstery member. Next, communication is provided between the vent grooves and the blower provided on the back surface side of the cushion member while the vent grooves are sealed by, for example, fitting a lid member onto the back surface of the cushion member. As a result, the air blown out of the blower is supplied to an occupant via the flow passages of the cushion member.
In this type of vehicle seat, an upholstery member may be integrated with a cushion member while the cushion member is molded. For example, if a molding material is injected into a molding die after the upholstery member is disposed in the molding die, the upholstery member and the cushion member are integrated together while the cushion member is molded. However, the configuration described above (integrated configuration) is not very suitable for forming flow passages during the molding of the cushion member, because the upholstery member arranged in a cavity and projections (portions that correspond to the outer shapes of for example, outlet holes) may contact each other. The invention is made in light of the above-described circumstances, and it is an object of the invention to make it possible to apply a cushion member and an upholstery member that are integrated together to a vehicle seat provided with a blower.